Security News > 2022 > November > Israel sets robotic target-tracking turrets in the West Bank
Israeli fortifications in the West Bank are becoming a bit more faceless, as the military has reportedly deployed robotic turrets capable of firing stun grenades, less-than-lethal bullets, and tear gas at Palestinians protesting their presence.
The remote-controlled auto guns were recently spotted at the Al-Aroub refugee camp in the southern West Bank, and in the city of Hebron, where locals speaking to the Associated Press told tales of weapons that fire without warning and frequently coat hillsides in tear gas.
The deployment of such weapons will undoubtedly fuel controversy in the West Bank, where clashes between Palestinians and the Israeli military and settlers recently reached a five-year high.
Israeli company Smart Shooter, which manufactures a number of products that add assisted aiming and target tracking to infantry weapons, is behind the turrets and their technology.
Smart Shooter has confirmed to The Register that the weapons deployed in the West Bank are its Smash Hopper systems.
Smart Shooter describes the Smash Hopper as "Perfectly suited for complex urban areas, borders, and sensitive infrastructure and situations where a low signature is required," and said the system uses Smart Shooter's SMASH Fire Control locking and tracking technology to identify a target and maintain a fix even if it is moving.